I have to say: I rock at MySims Racing. I am so good at it -- without ever playing it before -- I was able to beat the producer of the game, Charles Murakami, in every single race. I might have to thank my aptitude at throwing bubbles and bee hives, as well as my sweet ramp-jumping skills, but I am a god at this game.
Of course, I wasn’t playing MySims Racing to destroy every man, woman, and producer at the game. I was playing it to get a feel for what MySims Racing brings to kart-racing genre. Is it groundbreaking? Is it going to appeal to the Destructoid readership, a group of gamers who lean more toward the hardcore than the fun-core?
I mean, it’s a game that focuses on smiley faces and customization, cute power-ups and friendly races. Is this a game worth paying attention to?
Hit the jump for my impressions.
MySims Racing (Wii, Nintendo DS) Developer: Electronic Arts Publisher: Electronic Arts To be released: June 16, 2009
Look, this is a MySims game. Anybody who thought there wasn’t going to be customization (and customization in spades) is going to be disappointed. First and foremost, you can customize your character to the extent of all the MySims games, except now there are some racing-themed options for them to wear. This has no impact on how you play, however, but it’s the exact same character creation engine used in other MySims games.
When you get to the kart aspect, that’s when things go to a more game-impacting level. There are three types of karts you can make: compact, mid size, and large. Each type has different vehicle shapes (i.e. the large has trucks, fire engines, SUVs, etc.), and each type is good for different actions. The compact karts, for example, are good for quick acceleration and quick turns, and the heavy machines are good for slamming smaller racers out of the way.
For their customization, as you play the Story Mode, you can make Performance Upgrades and Styling Upgrades. Performance Upgrades are good for making sure your machine is at its best and competitive against harder-level races. Styling upgrades is for when you want to glue a scarcrow or a gargoyle to the front of your car. You know, for fun.
At its very core, MySims Racing is -- duh! -- a kart racer. If it can’t do this properly, then nobody is going to give a rat’s ass about making a cute little avatar, or an SUV with racing snails on it. So what can you expect? Well, both the DS and the Wii version have a dozen or so tracks. These range from simple oval tracks to complicated winding roads, with an aesthetic that runs the gamut from deserts, beaches, icy mountains, and more. I’d be lying if everything felt super unique, but the levels seem to be charming in a way that MySims games are known for -- cute and fun.
For standard races, typical to any well-practiced kart racer, there’s one goal: get to the end of the race in first place. Thankfully, there are a few tricks in place for any would be MySims Racing champs. First, littered around the race tracks are little multicolored gems. These “essences” are the types of emotions seen throughout the MySims series, and they serve multiple purposes. First, they act like currency for your upgrades. With each upgrade costing numerous “essences,” collecting the right types can be pretty important. They also serve the purpose of topping out your boost meter, which leads to the next part of racing in MySims Racing.
Boosting is really important. There’s a meter on the left hand side of the screen, and as you do powerslides, collect gems, ram opponents, and more, the meter will fill up. It’s like a simpler version of the nitrous boost in Burnout, and you can use it pretty much whenever there is juice in the meter. Let the meter fill up all the way, and you’ll get to use the super boost, which is great, except that if you let it sit, your boost will drain and your opponents can pick it up. Boost often.
No kart racer is really a kart racer unless there are power-ups, and MySims Racing has them in spades. There are, for example, soccer balls you can throw in front and behind, an acorn seed you can toss in front that will sprout a tree, a jack-o-lantern that acts like an oil-slick, and a “love bunny” that will fill up your screen with balloons that you have to shack off with the Wiimote. One of the neatest power-ups was a move that would flip your opponents screen upside down, causing controls to invert and perception to shift.
It’s important to point out the differences between the Wii and the DS versions of the game. Other than the obvious graphical differences, there are other more subtle differences. For example, in the Story Mode, while the Wii version has a hub map where you choose locations to build up the town, the DS version actually has a explorable town. As you build up the town by completing missions and races, more buildings and stuff will pop up. The Wii version has you do the same stuff, except that you don’t get to drive around the hub world.
Other stuff to be aware of is how the Wii and DS versions have different tracks, and there are some power-ups that act different or are unique to each version entirely. For example, the pumpkin oil-slick gets gunk on the screen of the DS version, and the “love bunny” is missing from the DS version entirely. The biggest difference between the versions is how the DS version has 4 player online and Ad Hoc multiplayer. The Wii version is missing this, but has the neat feature where you can bring your MySims character and vehicle to other people’s places by using your Wiimote for storage. Also, there is no Wii/DS connectivity.
Wii motion controls also show up, although they aren’t forced upon you. MySims Racing supports Wiimote and Nunchuke, Wiimote/Wii Wheel, GameCube controller, and Classic Controller, so there are plenty of options to play. Motion control is mostly relegated to shaking to hop, or cleans tuff off your screen, or to deal with opponents’ attacks. It’s largely inoffensive, and doesn’t seem to offer anything to hinder playing the game.
The biggest question here is MySims Racing worthy of your attention? Well, there’s a few ways you can come to this. I mean, do you like kart racers? Is Mario Kart not enough for you? Do you like the customization of MySims? Can you get past its casual stylings? Then MySims Racing might be right up your alley.
I'm not going to lie, I've been keeping an eye on this one. Really hope it can turn out good, plus it's fantastic that they haven't forced in the motion controls.
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5:00 PM on 04.13.2009
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